Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Pages: 345
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: Psychological mystery
Notes for Parents: Contains some coarse language and mature scenes. This book is probably not appropriate for younger or sensitive readers.

The Back Cover

Description from Goodreads:
When thirteen-year-old Angela Gracie Chapman looks in the mirror, someone else looks back--a thin, pale stranger, a sixteen-year-old with haunted eyes. Angie has no memory of the past three years, years in which she was lost to the authorities, lost to her family and friends, lost even to herself. Where has she been, who has been living her life, and what is hiding behind the terrible blankness? There are secrets she can’t even tell herself.
With a tremendous amount of courage and support from unexpected friends, Angie embarks on a journey into the darkest corners of her mind. As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: when you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the people responsible, or is there another way to feel whole again?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This novel has been published in 12 different languages.

What’s good?

This is a dark story about a girl suffering from a complex mental disorder. The pace is even and deliberate as it slowly reveals the secrets behind Liz’s lost years. The premise is unusual and the journey is emotional. When it comes to the main character, strong characterization complements the different viewpoints. The plot is well-organized and easy to understand.
Best Part: Kate, although I would have liked her to be a bigger part of the story.

What isn’t good?

There’s so much I can say here, but I don’t want to give too much of the story away. There were a lot of plot holes that really weakened the story. Foreshadowing was poorly done – what should have been subtle hints were, for me at least, big neon signs that left no real surprises when mysteries were revealed. While the main character had depth, the supporting characters were weak, seeming especially underwhelmed by Liz’s experiences. 
Worst part: The ending was ridiculous. Besides the big revelation (that was easily guessed much earlier), her decision to live a lie (with the help of a police officer) is ludicrous.

Recommendation þþþoo

This was a story with a lot of potential. Exploring the world of a traumatized teen with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as multiple-personality disorder) is a unique experience. However, I think the author could have done better. Despite its weaknesses, it was still an intriguing read.

Liz Coley. Pretty Girl-13. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2013.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Pages: 325
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia
Notes for Parents: Contains scenes of violence, at times graphic, and mature themes

The Back Cover

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few, who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate, eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies.
Surely, though, she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend, who offers an alliance. Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of The Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book is the first in a trilogy. The movie rights for The Testing have been optioned and the project is currently in the development stage.

What’s good?

This story is action-packed and filled with suspenseful twists and turns. The pacing gets progressively more intense as the teens fight to survive the testing. The writing is solid and the world-building is well-done. There’s a nice romance that threads through the plot without overpowering the story. The plot itself is fairly simple, with many opportunities for conflict and tension. There’s a great underlying message about how vulnerable our environment is to weapons of war.
Best Part: the science, especially regarding the rejuvenating efforts in a world environmentally devastated by war. (It was by far the most original part!)

What isn’t good?

In a world devastated by war, it seems highly illogical to kill off young people that are clearly intelligent and determined. The degree of violence was unnecessary. Admittedly, a more cerebral story about revitalizing the environment would have been boring, but it would have at least been more original. While many moments were unexpected, the overall story is very predictable. The start was a little slow.
Worst part: The lack of originality is painful.

Recommendation þþþoo

It's impossible not to compare this to The Hunger Games and Divergent. The same elements are all there – the post-apocalyptic setting, the cruel politics aimed at weeding out the weak, and the strong female protagonist who saves her love interest with luck and ingenuity. Had this book come out before The Hunger Games and Divergent, I would have called it brilliant. As it is, it’s just a copy. Well done, but way overdone.

Charbonneau, Joelle. The Testing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Pages: 320
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: LGTB
Notes for Parents: There are scenes with under-age drinking, coarse language and sexuality. For mature readers.

The Back Cover

Rafe has been out since eighth grade, and he’s fine with it, and so is everyone else. But sometimes he just wants to be a regular guy, not the gay guy. So when he transfers to an all-boys’ boarding school in New England, he decides to become “openly straight” instead. The transformation works: Rafe revels in a new group of straight guy friends and the freedom of living without a label. But then he falls in love with one of his new friends…who doesn’t even know that love is a possibility.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The sequel is called Honestly Ben.

What’s good?

So many of us would love a chance to re-invent ourselves. When Rafe gets just that, he doesn’t set out to pretend to be straight, he’s just trying to avoid that “gay kid” label. The story is both clever and frustrating as we watch Rafe get caught up in the lies he must inevitably tell to maintain his new identity. Rafe is a strong, affable main character with wit and charm. The plot is simple but intense as it explores how sexuality can become a defining aspect of one’s identity, and how avoidance by omission inevitably leads to deceit. The pace is even and fueled by genuine emotion.
Best Part: It’s hard to be different,” Scarborough said. “And perhaps the best answer is not to tolerate differences, not even to accept them. But to celebrate them. Maybe then those who are different would feel more loved, and less, well, tolerated.”

What isn’t good?

It’s difficult to explain what I didn’t like without giving away important parts of the story, so I’ll just say this: I didn’t like the romance. It was awkward. The supporting characters were cut-outs and the sub-plots were not unexpected.
Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation þþþoo

It’s clear from the very beginning that what Rafe is doing is a bad idea. Although his motives are sound, his logic is not, and that means as readers we must struggle through Rafe’s realization that his innocent attempt to avoid being labelled is hurting people. It was frustrating. The story was engaging, but discomfiting – not because of the intimacy of the relationship, but for the awkwardness of it.

Konigsberg, Bill. Openly Straight. New York: Scholastic, 2013.

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer & Matthew Holm

Pages: 217
Intended Audience: Tweens and up
Genre: Graphic novel
Notes for Parents: Deals with a mature issue but not in depth.

The Back Cover

Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer.  At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all.  But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park.  It’s full of . . . old people.  Really old people.
Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around.  She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors.  But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place?  The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Jennifer Holm and Matt Holm are the brother and sister team best known for the Babymouse graphic novel series.

What’s good?

The story goes back and forth between Sunny’s adventures in Florida with her grandfather and the events back home that led up to her having to stay with her grandfather. The plot is simple and straight forward, with several moments that are funny and heartwarming. Set in the mid-1970s, readers from the era will recognize many classic reminders of that disco age. Sunny is a likeable character, as is her grandfather who’s a rascally old fella. There is a serious issue at the core of the story, but it’s dealt with in subtle ways that make this story appropriate for most tweens.
Best Part: The lost cats

What isn’t good?

As with many graphic novels, there's not a lot of depth to the characters, but it does tell a great visual story. The big “family secret” is more of a family issue and is dealt with delicately, perhaps a little too delicately, but grandpa’s hidden cigarettes was a good way to confront a similar, less gritty issue. The problem itself is alluded to, but should be easy to understand for most readers.
Worst part: It was a bit more juvenile than it needed to be.

Recommendation þþþoo

The story is aimed at middle grades, so older students might not like how gently the issues are dealt with. It’s wonderfully nostalgic for those of us who were alive in the 1970s, but this may not be appreciated by younger readers. It was a very quick and easy read, and was quite entertaining. Recommended.

Holm, Jennifer L. & Matthew Holm. Sunny Side Up. New York: Scholastic, 2015.

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Schneider, Robyn. Extraordinary Means. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2015.
Pages: 324
Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Dystopian / Romance
Notes for Parents: Contains some coarse language, underage drinking and mature scenes.

The Back Cover
Up until his diagnosis, Lane lived a fairly predictable life. But when he finds himself at a tuberculosis sanatorium called Latham House, he discovers an insular world with paradoxical rules, med sensors, and an eccentric yet utterly compelling confidant named Sadie—and life as Lane knows it will never be the same.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is author’s second novel. Her first, The Beginning of Everything, garnered lots of praise.

What’s good?

There is strong characterization and a realistic narrative in this engaging story of teens fighting a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. The story is told in alternating viewpoints – Lane, the high achiever, and Sadie, the creative one – effectively telling two entirely different, emotional stories. Lane and Sadie are both likeable and relatable, and they tell their stories with honesty. The plot is simple, infusing what is essentially a love story with moments of tension, humor, and heart-break. Despite its tragic theme, it has elements of hope.
Best Part: “But at the last minute, I turned left, because I never had before, and because I had time to go down a different road.” (last line)

What isn’t good?

The story is predictable. The plot itself is quite thin, and there are few surprises. There isn’t a lot of action, and what tension there is comes and goes quickly. I would have liked more background information about the disease and how it returned with such force. The end was too easy.
Worst part: The dreaded love triangle.

Recommendation þþþoo

This is yet another book in the genre that has come to be known as “sick lit.” It has become the trend, like in A Fault in Our Stars, for sick and dying teens to fall in love. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, and even the premise, but the plot was weak and only a handful of things actually happen. I enjoyed the sense of hope that came with the ending, but not how easily all the problems were wrapped up. Recommended, but really only for those who need an illness with their romance.

Schneider, Robyn. Extraordinary Means. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2015.